Travel
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Alaskan Cruise questions
One of my friends and I are researching Alaskan cruises for summer 2013. I have noticed that the prices are quite a bit cheaper in June and August..so I am assuming July is the time to go? What kind of excursions did you go on? What did you do during the days at sea (I am assuming you can't sit on the patio and sunbathe, lol)?
Any information, at this point, is very helpful.
Re: Alaskan Cruise questions
We went in August and it was a spectacular time to go! We cruised the inside passage and then did a land tour to Denali the week after the cruise. Our time at sea was at night with the exception of the day we spent in Glacier Bay and of course we spent that time on deck or on our balcony because it is breathtaking! We took the white pass railway up and road bikes down the Yukon Highway, went snorkeling in Ketchikan, went to Mendenhall (sp?) glacier, went whale watching, went to a dog sled homestead. . . You really can 't go wrong
It's all so beautiful!
We went in June. It was early for bear sightings, but otherwise it's fine. I think the pricing has less to do with July being so much better than the other months and more to do with July being the peak month for summer travel in the US. I've heard plenty of excellent things about Alaskan cruises in August as well.
Most Alaskan cruises don't have a lot of sea days that aren't "scenic cruising." Unlike a typical ocean cruise, you can see land a lot of the time. Cruising the inside passage is pretty, and there's a little bit of wildlife. On some ships you can check out a deck blanket, so that you can sit out on deck and watch the scenery. Up around the glacier areas, it's almost like a port day, because there is plenty to see and you spend a lot of time up on deck checking out the scenery, spotting wildlife, looking for whales, etc. On the few true sea days, there are ship activities inside or you can relax with a book or a swim in the solarium. I like buying a pass to the thermal grotto on the Princess ships as a place to chill and hang out in colder weather. Or you can just lounge in the hot tub (outdoor hot tub + cool weather = awesome). It's pretty much like any other cold-weather cruise!
As for excursions... We did a whale-watching trip in Juneau with Harv & Marv and loved it! They dropped us at Mendenhall Glacier after, and then we caught the bus back to the port. In Skagway we did a Yukon/Rail excursion with Chilkoot Charters. It was okay. I loved the gorgeous scenery driving to the Yukon! However, it would have been nice to rent a car and do it without the big group. We didn't, because everyone raves about the White Pass railroad, but I thought the train ride was crowded and underwhelming. With so many people it was hard to get good views, and it was much of the same scenery you see driving up. If you've never been on a historic railroad or you're a train buff? Sure. Otherwise, I can't recommend it much over the drive. In Ketchikan we just took the city bus to the Totem Bight State Park and brought along a print out of the guide from their website. It was interesting, and even though there were three ships in port, we were there before any of the crowds. After that we just did hiked part of the Deer Mountain Trail on our own.